Eugene Weekly

One of the biggest arguments the UO has used for its lavish athletic funding is all the positive national publicity big time sports bring to the university. Yeah right. In a major story last week headlined “Off-Field Turmoil Causes Soul Searching at Oregon,” the New York Times reported on an athletic “program run amok.” The story rehashes a litany of UO amokness for a national audience. Here’s some lowlights: • “six players who were arrested during a span of several weeks” Continue reading →

Portland’s Mayor Sam Adams supports a city boycott of travel to Arizona as a show of opposition to a new anti-Hispanic law, Willamette Week reports. Continue reading →

One of Eugene’s newest public art installations, a directional pillar at the train station, memorializes a 1997 incident when Eugene police emptied every can of pepper spray they could find on tree sitters. Here’s the art: Here’s a look at what happened: Continue reading →

The Oregonian compared local Congressman Peter DeFazio to Bart Simpson in a front page article today: Continue reading →

The new Seneca biomass plant in Eugene will get millions in state tax breaks while the state releases prison inmates and stuffs kids in overcrowded classrooms for lack of tax revenue. Ostensibly the tax breaks are for “green” power, but the Oregonian reports today that the Seneca biomass plant will “release more carbon dioxide and lung-damaging particulates than a comparable coal-fired power plant.” Continue reading →

The Eugene Citizens Review Board voted unanimously tonight that a police officer used excessive force in Tasering a Chinese student last year. Continue reading →

Wondering what to get for that special someone who has everything? The Bonhams auction house in Los Angeles plans to sell off an Oregon thunderegg that’s four feet across and one of the largest in the world at at an auction on Dec. 6. Continue reading →

Two weeks ago, EW wrote about the potential of guerrilla gardening in Eugene as a way for citizens to rise up and overthrow the urban blight left downtown by failed city redevelopment projects. This week the San Francisco Bay Guardian writes about how guerrilla gardening has taken off in San Francisco with backing even from public works bureaucrats and the mayor. Continue reading →

Eugene Police Chief Pete Kerns today officially absolved fellow officers of any wrongdoing in tasering protester Ian Van Ornum last May. The EPD’s decision to not hold themselves accountable was widely expected. At a 3 pm press conference, Kerns largely repeated police justifications for the Tasering made by former Chief Robert Lehner three days after the incident. Continue reading →

The Iraq war has reached new levels of absurd corruption. The New York Times reports that the U.S. funded Iraqi government spent $85 million on plastic-coated cardboard divining rods to Ouija bombs and guns at checkpoints: Continue reading →